Nebraska is often perceived as boring, flat, and empty, a place to be endured while traveling to a desired destination. It had layer-cake or no geology. That was before the book Roadside Geology of Nebraska made clear how geologically intriguing and complex the state actually is. It contains the “largest sand dune field in the Americas” among other highlights. The authors present Nebraska as a subtle gem to both the nongeologist and geologist.

The book has two major divisions: a summary of geologic history of Nebraska and the road guides. The summary, a full third of the book, explains basic...